- Ukraine claims to have killed Russian Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev, Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army commander.
- Rezantev is the believed to be the seventh general to have died in battle since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
- Russia has faced staggering military losses, with US intelligence estimating at least 7,000 troops have been killed since the war began.
Ukraine claims to have killed Russian Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev, Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army commander and one of the country's highest ranking military officials, according to Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko.
Ponomarenko confirmed an earlier report of Rezantsev's death that was attributed to one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aides. Russia, however, has not confirmed the death, which is reported to have occurred in Chornobaivka, a village in southern Ukraine.
Rezantev is the believed to be the seventh general to have died in battle since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and one of the highest-ranking. Another lieutenant general, Andrei Mordvichev, was claimed to have been killed on Saturday.
—Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) March 25, 2022
The 49th Combined Arms Army is headquartered in the Southern Military District at Rostov-on-Don, and has been a major component of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Its forces include mountain infantry, motor rifle brigades, surface-to-air missile batteries and Spetnaz special forces.
A lieutenant general is a two-star officer in the Russian Ground Forces. US officials have assessed that Russia has needed to send its generals into more forward positions to try to breakthrough the obstacles their forces are encountering, and unlike Western militaries, the Russian military does not delegate much responsibility for battlefield decisions to lower-ranking officers and enlisted.
Russia has faced staggering military losses, with US intelligence estimating 7,000 troops have been killed in battle since the war began. One Russian Colonel, a brigade commander, was reportedly attacked by his own troops due to their losses on the battlefield, according to a Western official.
Experts say this rate of casualties is unsustainable.
"You have to keep in mind this is not the Soviet Army of World War II that marched to victory over the bodies of its dead," Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, previously told Insider. "This is a much smaller army, mostly volunteers. It's much more sensitive to casualties."
